2 indicted ex-APS teachers to surrender Monday

ATLANTA - According to the attorney representing Angela Williamson and Starlette Mitchell, the two former Atlanta Public School teachers plan to turn themselves into authorities at the Fulton County Jail Monday afternoon.

Attorney Gerald Griggs initially told Channel 2 Action News they would turn themselves in Monday morning, but he said a paperwork error at the jail pushed back their plans to the afternoon.

Williamson taught at Dobbs Elementary School and Mitchell worked at Parks Middle School.

On Sunday, Channel 2’s Shae Rozzi tried to track down both women at their homes.

Despite cars being in the driveway, no one answered the door at either residence.

The women were among 35 former APS employees named in an indictment on Friday.

“Dr. Hall had a contract that was set up to pay her bonuses when she achieved certain results,” Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard said at a news conference Friday. “Those results were caused by cheating.”

Investigators said some employees benefited financially while others were fired for voicing concerns about cheating.

Prosecutors said thousands of students are the victims in this case.

Some teachers gave their students answers on competency tests, which helped promote students to the next grade even in cases when students should have been held back.

Justina Collins said her daughter, who is in 9th grade, but reads at the 5th-grade level, is still trying to catch up.

Collins said she started asking teachers, her daughter’s principal and Hall questions when her daughter exceeded expectations on the CRCT, even though she had just received the worst score on a different benchmark reading test.

Collins said she was always told that her daughter was just an exceptional student who does well on tests.

She blames the educators accused in the scandal of robbing her daughter of the education she deserved.

“I have a 15-year-old who is behind in achieving her goal of becoming what she wants to be when she graduates,” Collins said.

Hall, Williamson and Mitchell have all denied any wrong-doing through their attorneys.

While the two former teachers plan to surrender Monday, Hall and the remaining 32 have until Tuesday morning to do so.